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For Diane Reynolds, spending time with any of her 11 grandchildren is special.
That’s especially when the conversation turns to Jesus. The devoted grandmother wants to nurture their spiritual lives.
“We learn by example, and that’s something I hope to pass on to my grandchildren that they live what they learn,” said Reynolds, a parishioner at Good Shepherd Church in Marine Park, Brooklyn.
Every Tuesday afternoon the pews are filled with prayer as Reynolds and her grandchildren gather to do the rosary together with the grandparents club at Good Shepherd Catholic Academy. It’s a tradition that deepens their connection not just to each other but to their faith.
“Praying the rosary with them gives me a great sense of peace,” said Reynolds.
It helped guide her granddaughter Nora Brown in her own spirituality.
“I learn a lot from her, especially during Mass with the prayers,” Brown told Currents News. “I like the Hail Mary and, I pray a lot to Saint Anthony.”
Pew research shows that 79 % of former catholics left the church before the age of 23, a statistic that motivates Reynolds to be a steady source of faith for her family.
“You have to start them young because they do live what they learn, and even if they stray for a while, they always have that firm foundation to know that Jesus is always here and always ready to forgive,” said Reynolds.
The message is not lost on her grandchildren.
“I’m glad to know that if I need help or I’m struggling, that I have grandma who can help me and I can pray and get things solved,” said Brown.
Reynolds hopes her efforts will inspire other grandparents to take an active role in their grandchildren’s spiritual growth.
“We do want to be role models for our grandchildren. We want to instill good citizenship. And I think part of that is believing in something bigger than yourself,” said Reynolds.
From a pew in Brooklyn, one grandmother’s legacy of faith is taking root, one prayer at a time.
Teresa Sorrentino has been retired for years, but her day still begins the same way it always has — in church.
Every day after Mass, she gets to work.
The former bank manager now manages the gift shop at St. Bernard of Clairvaux Church in Bergen Beach, Brooklyn.
Fourteen years ago, the pastor at the time asked her to run the shop. It’s been keeping her busy, keeping her connected to the community, and involved in her faith — which Teresa says has always been so important to her.
Although she’s retired, Teresa Sorrentino is still working. These days the former bank manager is helping to bring her Brooklyn church together by running the parish gift shop.
Pope Leo the 14th’s Wednesday morning general audience began in the popemobile, waving through St. Peter’s Square.
And, of course, the traditional blessing of babies couldn’t be missed.
Flags practically flooded the entire Vatican. Faithful from around the world didn’t want to miss the second public audience of the new pope.
Pope Leo used the opportunity to call for an end to war during the last moments of his public address.
He began with Ukraine.
On Monday, authorities reported a Russian attack on Kyiv involving more than 350 drones. The total impact on civilian and military personnel is still unknown– but the initial reports indicate heavy injury.
“These days, my thoughts go to the Ukrainian people, affected by new attacks against the civilian population and infrastructure. I assure my closeness and my prayers for all the victims, especially the children and families,” Pope Leo said. “I strongly renew my appeal to stop the war and support every initiative for dialogue and peace.”
Pope Leo also spoke about Gaza– where humanitarian aid still struggles to get in– and attacks on civilians continue. For example– also on Monday– a school in Gaza was hit… and around 20 people were killed.
“From the Gaza Strip, the cries of mothers and fathers rise to the heavens as they hold the lifeless bodies of their children and are forced to constantly move in search of a bit of food and a safer shelter from the bombings,” Popr Leo said.
The pope called for a renewed respect for humanitarian law in Gaza– and the release of all hostages who are victims of the war.
Getting his hands dirty with a little engine grease isn’t a tough task for Deacon Alvaro Morales Sanchez.
When he was 19, the transitional deacon completed studies in diesel mechanics working with engines and heavy machinery.
“I was very good, or at least at that point, just following schematics and doing a lot of electrical, and diagnostics,” said Deacon Alvaro Morales Sanchez.
And it’s a profession he thought was his destiny, but there was a void in his life.
“I had all these things that are very good, but somehow, I still feel empty. I still felt unsatisfied. I still felt unhappy,” said Deacon Morales Sanchez.
His parents came to the U.S. from Mexico and Deacon Alvaro and his brother followed them four years later. While living in New Jersey, his family embraced the Neocatechumenal way, a spiritual movement that aims to deepen the faith of its members through ongoing formation.
“My parents, they entered the church and, their marriage also was, was rebuilt because they were also, on the verge of, of divorce for this year,” said Deacon Morales Sanchez.
He participated in vocation forming meetings and was surprised by his answers.
“I kept saying, yes, and I kept asking myself afterwards, why did I say yes? you know, but somehow I kept answering this call. and then the Lord kept, you know, opening every door for me to be there,” said Deacon Morales Sanchez.
But the moment he realized this was the path he belonged on was spending time with a priest in Michigan.
Deacon Morales Sanchez said, “I said, but, you know, maybe God can do the same with me to see the life that this priest was living. I said, maybe God can do the same with me. And that was it. you know, that was. it was just to see how this priest gave his life, you know, completely without reservation.”
And he’s glad that he listened to the lord and will be ordained in June.
“I see that this is a great gift, you know, that, I there’s nothing that I have done to say that I merited it, that i somehow deserve or earned this this, this gift and just very privileged, you know, really, truly to be called by the lord, to this vocation,” said Deacon Morales Sanchez.
Deacon Alvaro hopes to tune up the faithful with the word of God.
“You know, the joy of what it is, to see the lives of the people be transformed as my life was transformed. and so I’m very excited,” said Deacon Morales Sanchez.
Getting out from under the hood and into the sacred halls of the church.
In the Diocese of Brooklyn a Queens deacon is preparing for ordination to the priesthood, but it’s not his first time learning something new: before entering the seminary, he was studying to be a mechanic.
Brooklyn Bishop Robert Brennan honored those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the U.S. with a special Memorial Day Mass.
Pope Leo XIV has formally taken his seat as the Bishop of Rome, marking the moment with his first Mass at the Basilica of St. John Lateran.
Bishop Robert Brennan honored those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country with a special Memorial Day Mass.
The Brooklyn bishop celebrated the field Mass at Saint Charles Resurrection Cemetery in Farmingdale. At the start of the Mass, two red and blue wreaths were placed near the front of the altar, honoring the fallen.
During his homily, Bishop Brennan thanked the community for joining together to pray and remember those serving the country.
Similar liturgies were held at all cemeteries owned and operated by Catholic Cemeteries of Brooklyn and Queens.
ROME (CNS) – Celebrating his first Mass in Rome’s diocesan cathedral, Pope Leo XIV said communion is built primarily “on our knees,” through prayer and a constant commitment to conversion.
He reaffirmed Pope Francis’ dedication to listening, first and foremost to the Holy Spirit, as it then leads to listening to and understanding others “as our brothers and sisters.”
The pope’s remarks came during his homily at Mass at the Basilica of St. John Lateran, where he took possession of the cathedral as the bishop of Rome May 25.
The pope arrived in the late afternoon to the cheers and applause of those who turned out to welcome the U.S.-born pontiff as he stepped out of the black Volkswagen SUV in front of the basilica. He smiled and waved to those outside before being greeted by Cardinal Baldassare Reina, papal vicar for Rome, and then he walked through the basilica’s Holy Door.
At the start of the liturgy, Cardinal Reina read a profession of obedience to the pope on behalf of the diocese and then the pope sat on the raised marble chair in the basilica’s apse, taking formal possession of the “cathedra” (chair) of the bishop of Rome. He then received representatives of his flock, including clergy and laypeople.
The pope dedicated his homily to the Mass readings, putting special emphasis on the importance of listening.
The first reading from the Acts of the Apostles (15:1-2, 22-29), described Paul and Barnabas recognizing the authority of the Jerusalem church and going there to settle the question of whether Gentiles could embrace a form of Christianity that did not include observing every aspect of Mosaic law.
“This was no easy matter; it called for much patience and mutual listening,” and Peter and the apostles in Jerusalem were prepared to listen, Pope Leo said.
That dialogue “led to the right decision,” he said, because they listened to God’s voice.
“In this way, they remind us that communion is built primarily ‘on our knees,’ through prayer and constant commitment to conversion. For only in this way can each of us hear within the voice of the Spirit crying out: ‘Abba! Father!’ and then, as a result, listen to and understand others as our brothers and sisters,” he said.
“Naturally, the more we let ourselves be convinced and transformed by the Gospel – allowing the power of the Spirit to purify our heart, to make our words straightforward, our desires honest and clear, and our actions generous – the more capable we are of proclaiming its message,” the pope said.
In fact, he said, “the Gospel assures us that we are not alone in making our decisions in life. The Spirit sustains us and shows us the way to follow, ‘teaching’ us and ‘reminding’ us of all that Jesus said.”
“Pope Francis frequently encouraged us to reflect on the maternal dimension of the church and her defining qualities of tenderness, self-sacrifice and the capacity to listen,” he said.
“We hope that those qualities will be increasingly present in the people of God everywhere, including here, in our great diocesan family: in the faithful, in pastors and, first of all, in myself,” Pope Leo said.
He encouraged the Diocese of Rome’s “process of listening” to the world and its communities to respond to current challenges and “to propose sage and prophetic initiatives of evangelization and charity.”
“I would like to express my firm desire to contribute to this great ongoing process by listening to everyone as much as possible, in order to learn, understand and decide things together, as St. Augustine would say, ‘as a Christian with you and a bishop for you,'” Pope Leo said.
He asked everyone to support him “in prayer and charity, mindful of the words of St. Leo the Great: ‘All the good we do in the exercise of our ministry is the work of Christ and not our own, for we can do nothing without him.'”
He expressed his love and affection for the faithful of Rome “and my desire to share with you, on our journey together, our joys and sorrows, our struggles and hopes. I too offer you ‘the little I have and am.'”
Following the Mass, the pope appeared at the balcony of the basilica, where he briefly addressed a large crowd of people, wishing them as he did the afternoon of his election May 8, “Peace be with you.”
The Holy Year dedicated to hope, he said, encourages the faithful to be living witnesses of Christ’s hope to the world, “a world that is suffering a lot” because of war, violence and poverty.
“Thank you for walking together,” he said, “Let us all walk together.”
The pope then got in an open popemobile and headed to the patriarchal Basilica of St. Mary Major where he venerated the “Salus Populi Romani,” (“Salvation of the Roman People”), a Marian icon in a side chapel.
After the prayers and final blessing, he stood and prayed at the tomb of his predecessor, Pope Francis, upon which lay a single white rose.
Pope Leo then spoke to the people gathered outside the basilica, thanking them “from my heart” for their presence to be with their new bishop, “united as members of the Diocese of Rome.”
Before going to St. John Lateran for the Mass, Pope Leo also met with Rome’s mayor, Roberto Gualtieri, in a brief ceremony at the bottom of the steps below city hall.
Pope Leo said he felt the “serious but enthusiastic responsibility of serving all members” of the Diocese of Rome, “having at heart, above all, the faith of the people of God and, therefore, the common good of society.”
“We are partners, each in its own institutional setting,” he said. And yet, as he was about to take possession of the city’s cathedral, “Today I can say for you and with you, I am Roman,” which was met with great applause.
Also May 25, the pope led a crowd in St. Peter’s Square in praying the “Regina Coeli” at noon.
Speaking from the window of the Apostolic Palace, the pope said, “Let us resolve to bring (the Lord’s) love everywhere, never forgetting that each of our sisters and brothers is a dwelling place of God and that his presence is manifested above all in the little ones, in the poor and the suffering, who ask us to be thoughtful and compassionate Christians.”
Pope Leo XIV appeared at the window of the Apostolic Palace for the first time on May 26 to recite the Regina Coeli prayer. Until now, his previous two Regina Coeli prayers had been held in different locations at the Vatican.
The first was on the central corridor of St. Peter’s Basilica on May 11, since the palace was still sealed due to the “sede vacante,” the period of time in the Catholic Church when the pope’s office is unoccupied, typically after his death or resignation, until a new Holy Father is elected.
In fact, Pope Leo removed the seals of the palace immediately following the celebration of his first papal Regina Coeli.
The second was in St. Peter’s Square on May 18, following the Mass marking the start of his pontificate.
During the May 26 Regina Coeli, Pope Leo XIV once again remembered his predecessor, and marked the tenth anniversary of one of the key documents of Pope Francis’ pontificate.
“Ten years ago, Pope Francis the Encyclical Letter “Laudato Si’,” devoted to care for our common home,” he told the crowd gathered in the square. “It has had an extraordinary impact, inspiring countless initiatives and teaching everyone to listen to the twofold cry of the Earth and of the poor.”
The pope also reminded the crowd that the day before, May 24, was The Day of Prayer for the Church in China. It was instituted for Chinese Catholics by Pope Benedict XVI, and is held every May 24, on the feast of Mary Help of Christians.